North sat forward on the sofa, his forearms resting on his thighs, and studied the machine. “I can sense the heat in it and Griffin Chastain’s vibe, but there’s only one way to get a real feel for it.”

“You’re talking about using your talent?”

“What’s left of my talent,” North said.

“You’d have to remove your glasses to do that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes. It’s a risk, but I don’t have a lot of choice. I need information.”

He took a deep breath and reached up with both hands to remove the mirrored glasses. He set them down on the coffee table.

For the second time since they had met, Sierra saw his eyes. The first time had been in the abandoned building when they had encountered the light grenade. She had not been able to get a close look on that occasion. But tonight she could see them clearly. North’s eyes were a mysterious shade of green and gold. They burned with energy. For a few seconds she could not look away.

North was the one who broke the moment of connection between them. He blinked several times as if trying to clear his vision. Then he turned back to the machine and reached out to put both hands on it.

“Hot as hell,” he said. “Light energy.”

“That makes sense if it has your grandfather’s vibe,” Sierra said. She started to say something else but a tingle of heat snagged her attention.

The vibe was not coming from the machine. North’s mirrored glasses were the source.

Slowly she removed her glove. “Can I touch your glasses?”

“What?” North was concentrating on the machine. “Sure. Help yourself.”

She picked up the glasses and opened her senses. “Shit.”

A shock of chilling awareness rattled her so badly she almost dropped the glasses.

North turned his head to look at her. “What is it?”

She took a breath, tightened her grip on the glasses and concentrated.

“Rage,” she said. “And frustration. Some instability.”

North froze. “Heat laid down by me? Are you picking up my frustration and the deterioration of my talent?”

“No.” She took another breath. “This feels like some of the new stuff I sensed on that machine.”

“The same sensation you got off the doorknob at Garraway’s house?”

Sierra hesitated and then shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.” She raised her eyes to meet his. “You told me you got these glasses from a lab at Halcyon Manor.”

“Yes.”

“I think whoever handled these lenses before you started wearing them hates you, North. I think the radiation infused in the crystals is poisoning you slowly but surely. Someone is deliberately trying to destroy your talent and drive you mad.”

CHAPTER 24

For a few seconds North stopped breathing. He was so stunned that he neglected to put on the glasses until the visions at the edge of his awareness began to seethe and roil.

“Damn,” he whispered.

He grabbed the glasses and put them on. The hallucinations faded. Sierra watched him, not speaking, silently challenging him.